It's a good comparison video and quite frankly, the quality is comparable to the Hero2. Although I still like Hero2's saturation levels, the Ion PRO has a smoother video. The Hero 2 has a problem with image stability.

I wish I knew about this camera when I bought the Hero2. Would have made a trade.

I don't know. Youtube quality is so bad that when you upload anything to it things end up looking almost the same. 1080p to Vimeo would be better.

My monitor is 1690x1050. So I set youtube to 1080p and then go to full screen it should be beautiful but it looks like shit. Any difference between the two cameras is wiped away. I know the Hero2 looks better than that straight out of the camera. I also assume the Ion does as well. It's just so pixelated on youtube I think youtube is terrible for camera comparisons that's all. Seriously, put it on 1080p then go full screen.

This isn't a comparison but footage from an ion. Looks better and the Ion doesn't look too bad at all.

Actually with your monitor set up most video will look pretty crap, especially 1080 video. 1690x1050 is different from any of the standard resolutions for video, therefore you will have a crazy amount of scaling going on (and the scaling is going to suck because your screen resolution is not a nice multiple of any of the video resolutions).
The best you can do is watch 720p at 100% - i.e., using only part of the screen. 1080p forget it - not only are you scaling video, you are downscaling which generally is brutal.

Not really. Just checked it on my other comp dual 1920x1080 samsungs, same thing. It's not the screens, it's Youtube. Go play a bluray on any monitor and it'll look beautiful even if you scale. You don't need 1:1 pixel mapping for video. plenty of reviews of 1080p on 1050 and you can't even see the difference with video.

Don't even scale it. Watch it natively, and look at the lack of textures especially on the road. It's not the cameras fault, it's youtube. They have to serve up a lot of video. They strip the shit out of the bitrates. Premium Vimeo is a bit better.

While I completely agree as a self-proclaimed videophile that any type of compression means bad news for quality, YouTube comparisons still stand as valid.

1) What are you going to upload your video to? Let's face it, if you want the most views and easiest method of sharing, YouTube is going to be one of the homes for your videos.

2) While compression will degrade quality, you can still see the differences in these comparison videos. It's not like compression all of a sudden makes one upload much worse than the other. They both get compressed in the same manner. It's just that the artifacts will appear in different places. If the source video already sucks in quality, compressing it will just make that worse. If the source video quality is great, compressing it won't make it as bad as a source that was bad to begin with. Prove me wrong on this. Show me a GoPro 1 video on YouTube that looks better than a GoPro 2 video of the same resolution.

To me, it's very obvious that the ION has better image stability. The difference lies in contrast and saturation. Something tells me that even at the highest quality possible, this will still be the case between the two cameras.

[SNIP]
To me, it's very obvious that the ION has better image stability. The difference lies in contrast and saturation. Something tells me that even at the highest quality possible, this will still be the case between the two cameras.

Have you found image stabilization to be an issue from your personal experience with the Hero 2 (and the Hero 2 videos that are all over the place)? Or is that comment primarily based on the two comparison videos in this thread?

Have you found image stabilization to be an issue from your personal experience with the Hero 2 (and the Hero 2 videos that are all over the place)? Or is that comment primarily based on the two comparison videos in this thread?

I own the Hero 2. It's not horribly unstable, just noticeably choppy in faster/bumpier scenes.

Also, let me point out again... what exactly about the YouTube compression process makes you think that it will all of a sudden make Hero 2 videos less stable than ION videos? Is there something I'm missing here?

And FYI, I tend not to talk out of my nether regions. If I didn't own the Hero 2, I wouldn't be commenting on it's quality with a definitive tone.

I own the Hero 2. It's not horribly unstable, just noticeably choppy in faster/bumpier scenes.

Also, let me point out again... what exactly about the YouTube compression process makes you think that it will all of a sudden make Hero 2 videos less stable than ION videos? Is there something I'm missing here?

And FYI, I tend not to talk out of my nether regions. If I didn't own the Hero 2, I wouldn't be commenting on it's quality with a definitive tone.

Easy lion, I was not attacking your opinion - let alone you personally.

I am aware that you have the Hero 2, that is why I was hoping you could comment on the image stability (or lack thereof) based on first hand observations.

Specifically I was asking because from what I can see in the videos both cameras have issues with image stability. It appears that the Ion Air might deal with small amplitude vibrations a bit better but really struggles with the bigger chops, while it seems the other way around for the GoPro.

But as I have said before, I am hesitant to draw conclusions based on a couple of YouTube videos. Not necessarily because I disagree with your point about about the effects of YouTube quality degradation (a completely separate discussion), but because a couple of minutes of video data are really not sufficient to judge the performance across different settings and scenarios.

That is exactly why I asked about your experience with the Hero 2 - because I value your observations and opinions. FWIW, I use the Hero 1 and I sometimes wish it was a bit less choppy.

Yea, I notice more chop on the Hero 2, but this is based on numerous other ION videos. But yes, all were on YouTube. Not sure if one exists on Vimeo. But as I've said, I don't find YouTube to be obsolete. A lot of times, most people aren't even going to notice a difference between max quality YouTube videos and replay straight from the camera to your TV. That is as long as they have decent Internet connection with a decent gfx card and monitor.

Anyway, I am not by any means saying the ION is superior picture-wise. I find it good enough to warrant me choosing it over the GoPro. This is because of the camera's design. It also comes in a wi-fi model without the need for a bulky add-on like the GoPro. And for all the anti-teletubby people... ION won't make you look like one hahaha.

Truth be told, I'm completely happy with my Hero 2. Image is great. I can live with the chop.